Murtha to Receive JFK Award for Iraq Stance

Murtha to Receive JFK Award for Iraq Stance
By Kimberly Hefling
The Associated Press

Monday 22 May 2006

Washington - The first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress, Rep. John Murtha took pride in politicking quietly, behind the scenes, with Republicans and fellow Democrats alike. Washington has become more deeply partisan since Murtha was swept into office more than 30 years ago, and so has Murtha - in a very public way.

On Monday, Murtha is to be awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston for his bold pronouncement that U.S. troops should be pulled out of Iraq - a statement many say helped change the public debate over the war, because of Murtha's past as a Democratic hawk and retired Marine Reserves colonel who enjoyed easy access to presidents.

"There aren't many around like him any more," said Jack Johannes, a political science professor at Villanova University. "As a result, when the generations change, the environments change, even someone like John Murtha has to change."

Being honored along with Murtha on Monday is Alberto Mora, a former Navy general counsel who warned Pentagon officials that U.S. policies dealing with terror detainees could invite abuse.

Despite high emotions associated with the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War, public criticism of other members was much less common in 1974 when Murtha first won the House seat he still holds. Without the Internet and the 24-hour cable news cycle of today, there was less pressure on members getting camera time to prove their worth.

"I probably did not speak out soon enough ... I should have, but I was always so used to doing things behind the scenes and getting something done, getting a reaction from the Executive Branch," the tall, gray-haired Murtha, 73, told The Associated Press in an interview from his congressional office.

As the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Murtha was often called on by presidents seeking his service or advice. President Reagan had Murtha co-chair a 1986 delegation sent to help monitor elections in the Philippines, and Murtha was a go-to guy on Capitol Hill when President George H.W. Bush was cultivating congressional support for the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Murtha recalled returning from a trip to Beirut and telling Reagan that more troops were needed in Lebanon. He said the president did not take his advice, which was offered before the 1983 barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S troops, but did acknowledge later that Murtha had been right.

"At that time I didn't even talk publicly about what I said privately because I felt like I'd given my advice, even though they didn't take it, they changed course very quickly after the incident," Murtha said.

By contrast, Murtha said, President Bush has been unwilling to admit to mistakes in Iraq. Murtha said he was invited to early war planning meetings with Pentagon officials, and when he said he thought they were too optimistic about how the Iraqi people would respond to the U.S.-led invasion, "They quit inviting me to meetings."

He said he agonized over his doubts about the war for a year before deciding to go public.

When he did, the White House issued a statement comparing him to liberal filmmaker Michael Moore, although President Bush subsequently called Murtha "a fine man and a good man."

Now, "I don't get too many calls from the White House any more," Murtha said. When asked about how much communication there is between him and Bush's White House, Murtha formed a zero with his fingers.

Murtha said he's content with his new role as an outsider because he feels he is helping to bring about change. Murtha said he received 18,000 phone calls, letters, and other forms of communication in the first few days after he made his statement, and a vast majority of those who contacted him were in support.

"When I go by the cemetery at Arlington, it doesn't say Democrat or Republican on there," Murtha said. "It just says American."

But if Democrats win back a majority in the House of Representatives in November as Murtha predicts will happen, the Republican administration better be prepared to answer tough questions about the war, he said.

"It will be a stunning thing to them, and then the investigations will start," Murtha said.

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John Murtha: http://www.house.gov/murtha/.

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